The attempt by the EFCC to forcefully and unlawfully arrest His Excellency Yahaya Adoza Bello in a show of shame in Abuja on 17th April, 2024 is by every standard barbaric, ludicrous and outrightly condemnable.
It should be noted inter alia that His Excellency Yahaya Adoza Bello has a valid court order restraining the EFCC from arresting him, an order the agency has appealed.
A careful perusal of all the steps taken so far by the anti corruption agency shows clearly that the unfolding drama is an auditioning of a politically motivated script, poorly written and directed by some invisible gladiators at the corridors of power.
Some quick questions begging for answers include:
• Why the EFCC failed to invite His Excellency Yahaya Bello for questioning?
• Why did EFCC ignored the order of a high court duly served on her restraining it from arresting the former governor while her appeal against the said order was pending?
• Is EFCC above the law?
• Why the threat to use the military to effect the unlawful arrest of an alleged suspect?
For crying out loud, a suspect remains innocent on till proven guilty and deserves to be treated with all sense of decorum, reason why the EFCC should have invited the former governor for questioning as a first resort if there is substantial evidence that he was indicted in any financial crime.
It is so shameful that EFCC could not exercise patience for its own appeal pending at the Court of Appeal in Abuja to be determined on 22nd April, 2024 before taking further action on the matter.
The EFCC, a legally established agency of government cannot be above the law. It must therefore let the public know in whose interest it is flagrantly disobeying a valid court order.
In another desperate move following her failure to effect the unlawful arrest of His Excellency during her “Infamous siege on Benghazi”, the EFCC despicably informed the public that it will use the military to carry out the arrest in defiance to a restraining valid court order instead of hiding her face in shame. Somebody should help inform the EFCC that we are in a democracy and not a military dictatorship.
To make it more laughable, the agency declared Yahaya Bello WANTED in another shameful face saving move.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the EFCC’s attempt to illegally arrest His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello is politically motivated to embarrass him. It is a case of persecution that we all must put aside sentiment and condemn it in its entirety as it could be any other person tomorrow.
Written by Comrade Ramat Molo Aliyu